Savage Cinderella

Chapter 15 -Headaches and Healing Hearts

Chapter 15

Headaches and Healing Hearts

Justin finally had Brinn belted into the front seat and was cruising down Route 75 toward his condo in Centennial Park. His attention was drawn to the girl who was lolling her head and talking gibberish by this time. She really could not handle her liquor. He made a mental note to remind her of this incident should she ever want another drink. He might also consider having a little chat with Phillip when the idiot was sober in the morning. 

He turned the radio down to hear the incoherent babbling, listening for clues as to why Brinn would come down from her mountain and risk the discovery she so desperately feared. She’d found her way to the Black Horse Tavern, a pub he’d mentioned to her while at the cabin. His heart jumped at the idea that she was there looking for him, but he dismissed it immediately. Partly because he didn’t want to assume that their time together had affected her so profoundly, and partly because he didn’t want to admit the muddle of feelings he had for her. Whatever her reasons, Justin now had two goals: to keep her safe, and to reunite her with her family. He would focus on that for now. It would be a shock for all of them, but he was certain it was the right thing to do. 

He turned off the exit heading onto Peachtree when his phone rang. Justin connected the call. “Hello?”

“Hi, Son.”

Justin tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The last person he wanted to talk to was his father. It had been a couple of months since his last call and still Justin had little to say. “What’s up?” He asked coolly.

“I read about your adventure and I was calling to make sure you were all right. You should have called.”

“I’m fine, Dad.” He let the silence grow, assessing his father’s sincerity. The man was impossible to read. Cal Spencer was good at covering up the truth. After his mom caught his dad in yet another affair, his parents had finally divorced. Justin was just nineteen and his brother Steve a year younger. Steve was old enough to join the Marines—a ticket out of one hell and into another—but Justin was left behind to pick up the pieces. He wasn’t sure which one of them had gotten the short end of that stick. 

The divorce was ugly. The constant fights, the threats of violence, and him always in the middle trying to keep the peace and often paying the price in bruises. How many black eyes and busted lips had his father inflicted while in a rage? And how many times had he endured drunken tirades of “You’ll never amount to anything,” and words like “useless” or “failure” every time he tried to protect his mother from the brunt of the violence? His father rarely remembered those times, but Justin would never forget. It was a lot to forgive. It had been a relief when his parents divorced and Cal moved north to Virginia. It wasn’t until then that Justin finally felt he could leave his mom and go off to college. Going out west for school hadn’t been far enough to erase the burden of guilt and anger he carried.

His father fumbled for words in the silence. “Well, I just wanted to hear it for myself, I guess. I was worried about you.”

Justin eyed Brinn, now passed out completely in the front seat, her hair cascading across her face. He reached over and brushed the fine dark strands out of her eyes. Fighting the urge to stroke her cheek, he wrapped his fingers tighter around the steering wheel. He didn’t want to wake or startle her. Instead he let out a slow breath. There was no need to tell his father about the girl who was rapidly taking over his every thought. 

“Really, Dad, I’m okay. I have to go. I’ll call you soon when I can talk longer. I’m driving right now,” he said, knowing his father wouldn’t want him endangering himself. The man seemed hell-bent on making things up to him, but the damage was done and any amount of repair was still etched with cracks.